Press Releases

Southwest Minnesota has the largest employment concentration in wind power

ST. PAUL, MINN. (October 2, 2014) –
Today, Governor Dayton presented the findings of the State’s Clean Energy
Economy Profile, a report led by the Minnesota State Departments of Commerce
and Employment and Economic Development, with input from a committee of
industry leaders, including Wind on the Wires.
The report illustrates the great successes Minnesota has enjoyed and the
competitive advantage the state has for sustaining local jobs and attracting
additional investments to grow our clean energy economy.

“Minnesota’s early action to embrace wind
energy has created thousands of great professional jobs in our economy,” said
Wind on the Wires Executive Director Beth Soholt. According to the Minnesota
Clean Energy Economy Profile report, Minnesota has seen a 288% increase in wind
power jobs since 2000, compared to an 11% state employment growth during the
same time period. Wages in the wind
power sector are more than $10,000 higher than the average annual wage in
Minnesota. “We applaud Minnesota’s
leadership in the clean energy sector. We are enormously proud of the nearly
2,000 wind power jobs and particularly the 553% increase in wind power
businesses in Minnesota since 2000,” said Soholt.

The Clean Energy Economy Profile
report shows that 41% of
Minnesota’s wind power jobs in 2014 are in the southwest region of Minnesota; and 52% of regional
clean energy businesses are in wind power. “This report illustrates what we have known for a long time; that
wind development has been bringing high-paying jobs with benefits to rural
communities throughout Minnesota,” said Shanelle Evens Montana, Associate,
Legislative and Regulatory Affairs at EDF Renewable Energy. “In southwestern
Minnesota particularly, hundreds of people are employed to operate and maintain
the many projects in the area. Construction of wind projects brings a
boom for area towns and businesses, but the best story is the long lasting
economic development that spans the life of the project.”

“Wind on the Wires has worked side-by-side with many groups, organizations, and
our members to establish the key policies that have helped drive this
incredible growth and economic development for our state,” said Soholt. “We urge Governor Dayton and the legislature
to ensure that Minnesota achieves at least half of its electricity from clean
energy by 2030 because it’s the right thing to do to create jobs, boost economic
development, and reduce carbon emissions that endanger our health and pollute
Minnesota’s vast water resources.”

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About Wind on the Wires

Wind on the Wires is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in
St. Paul, Minn., which is comprised of wind developers, environmental organizations,
tribal representatives, public interest groups, clean energy advocates, farm
groups and businesses providing goods and services to the wind industry. Our
mission is to overcome the barriers to bringing wind energy to market by
addressing technical and regulatory issues, as well as through education and
public outreach.